Using distributed local qos optimization to achieve global qos optimization for video conferencing services

ABSTRACT

A media gateway (MG) that services a plurality of client devices, may be handled at least a portion of video conferencing (VC) processing during a VC call between at least one of said plurality of client devices and at least one other VC client. The portion of the VC processing handled by the media gateway may be offloaded from a centralized VC multipoint control unit (MCU). The MG may handle one or more VC MCU functions, which may comprise video conferencing call control and/or management and/or audio/video (AV) transcoding. The MG may perform localized quality of service (QoS) management, to select, and adaptively control and/or configure resources and/or local links used in the MG and/or in VC clients or neighboring MGs connected to the MG, during VC operations, such as in generating, handling, and/or communicating data or content exchanged during VC calls.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to andclaims benefit from U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/489,152which was filed on May 23, 2011.

The above stated application is hereby incorporated herein by referencein its entirety.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application also makes reference to:

-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/171,097 filed on Jun. 28, 2011;-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/171,123 filed on Jun. 28, 2011;-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/170,503 filed on Jun. 28, 2011;-   U.S. application Ser. No. 13/170,653 filed on Jun. 28, 2011; and-   U.S. application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket Number 24354US02)    filed on even date herewith.

Each of the above stated applications is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable].

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable].

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to networking. Morespecifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to a methodand system for using distributed local QoS optimization to achieveglobal QoS optimization for video conferencing services.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the continuous growth of digital television or broadcastmultimedia, and/or broadband access, which may be used in conjunctionwith online businesses, social networks, and/or other online servicesand applications, users may desire having access to a larger number ofproviders and/or a broader range of content in a manner that is flexibleand/or suits the users' lifestyles. Most users connect to the Internetusing web browsers running on personal computers (PCs) and/or mobiledevices such as Smartphones. Furthermore, most households may have oneor more televisions that may be used to view television broadcastsand/or multimedia content. Television broadcasts may include terrestrialTV, Cable-Television (CATV), satellite TV, and/or Internet Protocoltelevision (IPTV) based broadcasts. To protect against unauthorizedreception and/or use of multimedia content, service providers mayrequire use of dedicated set-top boxes (STBs) that may be used todecrypt broadcast signals or provide conditional access to informationcommunicated from the service providers to generate suitable videoand/or audio streams that may be played via televisions and/or otherdisplay/playback devices in the household.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention asset forth in the remainder of the present application with reference tothe drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method is provided for using distributed local QoSoptimization to achieve global QoS optimization for video conferencingservices, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection withat least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims.

These and other advantages, aspects and novel features of the presentinvention, as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, willbe more fully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a media gateway, which may beutilized in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication modelthat may utilize media gateways as Multipoint Control Units (MCUs)during video conferencing (VC) applications, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary media gateway thatmay support Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) operations during videoconferencing (VC) applications, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary media gateway thatmay support local QoS management during video conferencing (VC)applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for supportingdistributed local QoS optimization functions using integrated mediagateways during video conferencing (VC) applications, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention may be found in a method and systemfor using distributed local QoS optimization to achieve global QoSoptimization for video conferencing services. In various embodiments ofthe invention, a media gateway may be utilized to provide and/or supportvideo conferencing (VC) services and/or applications in a networkserviced by the media gateway. The media gateway may handle at least aportion of video conferencing (VC) processing during a video conferencecall between a client device (VC client) serviced by the media gatewayand one or more other video conferencing (VC) terminals. In this regard,at least a portion of video conferencing (VC) processing that is handledby the media gateway may be offload from one or more conventional videoconferencing (VC) multipoint control units (MCUs). Conventional VCmultipoint control units (MCUs) are dedicated devices, typically locatedupstream of the media gateway within the network topology, providingdedicate VC control and/or management functions. Exemplary MCU functionsmay comprise control and/or management of video conferencing (VC) calls,and/or audio/video (AV) transcoding associated with content exchangedduring the video conferencing (VC) calls. The video conferencing (VC)call control and/or management may comprise determining and/orestablishing routing paths utilized in exchanging data during videoconference (VC) calls. The MCU may also typically provide global qualityof service (QoS) management during VC calls.

As part of the offloading of MCU functions to the media gateway, themedia gateway may provide localized QoS management functions during VCcalls. In this regard, the local QoS management performed by the mediagateway may comprise an adaptive localized QoS optimization directed atsetting and/or adjusting one or more QoS related parameters in the mediagateway, and/or in one or more client devices and/or neighboring mediagateway directly or indirectly connected to the media gateway. ExemplaryQoS related parameters may comprise, or pertain to local resources,capabilities, and/or links that may be utilized during VC operations.This may comprise coder/decoder (codec) functions, processing or storageresources, processing criteria (e.g. latency, load, and priority),interfaces, and/or communication criteria (bandwidth, latency, error,etc.). The media gateway may negotiate at least some of the QoS relatedparameters with one or more of the plurality of client devices and/orthe other media gateway directly connected to the media gateway. Themedia gateway may determine a plurality of profiles associated withresources and/or capabilities utilized during VC operations, such asencoding profiles, communication profiles, and/or resource allocationprofiles. The media gateway may then select one or more these profilesduring local QoS management operations, based on quality characteristicsand/or limitations associated with each of these profiles.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication systemthat comprises a home network serviced by a media gateway, which may beutilized in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1, there is shown one or more home networks 100, a plurality ofdelivery networks 110, a plurality of service providers 120A-120N, and aplurality of content providers 130A-130K. Each home network 100 maycomprise one or more local client device 104, and may be serviced by amedia gateway 102.

The service providers 120A-120N may comprise various entities that mayprovide, using different access technologies or protocols, variousservices to media gateways 102 and/or to devices serviced thereby. Theaccess technologies and services may include, but are not limited to,network access, multimedia, television, Internet, phone, Ethernet,multimedia over coax alliance (MoCA), and/or passive optical network(PON) access for example. Some of the service providers 120A-120N maycomprise network access service providers, providing physical layerconnections to the media gateway 102. Such physical layer connectionsmay then be utilized to access content provided by the content providers130A-130K, access services provided by other ones of the serviceproviders 120A-120N, and/or access to intranets or the Internetat-large. The term “network access service provider” as used herein isdistinguished from the more generic term “service provider” which mayencompass services other than providing physical access to a network.Cable television providers, plain old telephone service (POTS)providers, digital subscriber line (DSL) providers, cellular providers,WiMAX providers, and satellite providers are examples of network accessservice providers. In an exemplary aspect of the invention, the mediagateway 102 may be operable to connect to multiple service providers120A-120N to facilitate receiving content originating from one or moreof the content providers 130A-130K.

The content providers 130A-130K may comprise various entities and/ornetworks which may generate, capture, and/or package content that may bedistributed to end-users, such as via the service providers 120A-120Nand/or the delivery networks 110. The “content” may comprise audio,video, multimedia, e-book, gaming, and/or other content. The deliveredcontent may comprise commercial content, such as content generated byfilm or television production and/or distribution companies (e.g.Paramount Pictures or Warner Bros.), and/or personal content, such asuser-generated content. The content may be downloadable and/orstreaming, rented and/or purchased. Content originating from the contentproviders 130A-130K may be distributed to the end-users (e.g. consumers)by the service providers 120A-120N. The content providers 130A-130K andservice providers 120A-120N may be separate entities. In some instances,however, a single provider may provide both content and services, asdemonstrated by dashed line 140 for example. That is, an entity thatfunctions as a service provider may also generate and/or providecontent.

The delivery networks 110 may comprise one or more networks that mayenable wireless and/or wired communication among a plurality of localand/or remote entities, based on one or more networking and/orcommunication infrastructures. In this regard, the delivery networks 110may enable distribution and/or exchange of multimedia content to and/oramong end-users. The network connectivity available via the deliverynetworks 110 may be based on one or more communication standards and/orprotocols. The delivery networks 110 may comprise, for example, Internet110A, cable network 110B, and/or satellite network 110C, wireless localnetwork area/wide network area (LAN/WAN) 110D, and/or cellular network110E.

The cable network 110B may comprise suitable distribution nodes,systems, and/or subnetworks that may enable forwarding of communicationbetween cable providers and a plurality of consumers. In this regard,the cable network 110B may comprise a network of fiber optics and/orcoaxial cables for use in cable broadcasts. For example, in addition totraditional coaxial based networks, the cable network 110B may compriseone or more passive optical networks (PON) 112 and/or one or more hybridfiber-coax (HFC) networks 114. Receiving optical signals, at the homenetwork 100 may require use of dedicated devices, such as opticalnetwork unit (ONU) 108B. The ONU 108B may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to terminatefiber connections, to facilitate receiving of incoming optical signals,and transform them into electrical signals that may be further processedwithin the home network 100, such as via the media gateway 102.

The satellite network 110C may comprise suitable distribution nodes,systems, and/or subnetworks that may enable communication of satellitebroadcasts by satellite providers to a plurality of consumers. Forexample, the satellite network 110C may comprise a plurality of orbitingsatellite nodes and/or one or more terrestrial centers in a satellitebroadcast system. Receiving satellite signals may require use ofdedicate devices, such as satellite receiver 108A. The satellitereceiver 108A may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/orcode that may be operable to receive incoming satellite signals, andtransform them into signals that may be further processed within thehome network 100, such as via the media gateway 102.

The LAN/WAN network 110D may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to enable implementation ofone or more wired and/or wireless LAN or WAN standards and/or protocols.Exemplary WAN technologies comprise, for example, WiMAX-based networks.Exemplary LAN technologies may comprise, for example, those based onIEEE 802.11 standards, including, for example, WiFi-based networks.

The cellular network 110E may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces and/or code that may be operable to enable communication viaone or more cellular technologies. Exemplary cellular technologies maycomprise Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA),CDMA2000, Long Term Evolution (LTE), WiMAX, High-Speed Downlink PacketAccess (HSDPA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), GeneralPacket Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution(EDGE), and/or other forms of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS).

Each home network 100 may correspond to a location that may comprise aplurality of devices which may be serviced and/or managed by the mediagateway 102. In this regard, the location may be a residence (e.g. homeor apartment), a small business, a school, a library, and/or other likesettings in which users may want to obtain access to services and/ornetworks. The media gateway 102 may be utilized in the home network 100to provide connectivity within the home network 100, and/or between thehome network 100 and the service providers 120A-120N (and/or the contentproviders 130A-130K), via the delivery networks 110.

The media gateway 102 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to implement variousaspects of the invention. In this regard, the media gateway 102 may beoperable to communicate with the content providers 130A-130K, theservice providers 120A-120N, and the local client devices 104. In thismanner, the media gateway 102 may enable bidirectional communication ofcontent and/or other information between the content providers 130A-130K, the service providers 120A-120N and the client devices 104. Tosupport content delivery operations, the media gateway 102 may functionand/or be configured as a set-top box (STB) and/or an Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV) gateway. Communications between the media gateway 102and the content providers 130A-130K and/or service providers 120A-120Nmay be carried over optical, wired, and/or wireless links of thedelivery networks 110. The media gateway 102 may be operable to handlemultiple physical layer connections to multiple ones, or portions, ofthe delivery networks 110, where different ones or portions of thedelivery networks 110 are owned, operated, leased, or otherwiseassociated with different ones of the network access service providers120A-120N. In some instances, the media gateway 102 may be operable toconcurrently communicate over multiple physical connections provided bythe multiple network access service providers. For example, the mediagateway 102 may be operable to configure and/or utilize one or moreconnections 108 to the delivery networks 110. The connections 108 maycomprise wired and/or wireless connections between the media gateway 102and the delivery networks 110.

Within the home network 100, the media gateway 102 may service aplurality of client devices, which may comprise local client device 104.The media gateway 102 may also service one or more remote client device118, associated with the home network 100 and/or the media gateway 102,but located external to the home network 100. The client devices maycomprise personal and/or household devices that may be operable tointeract with, and/or be communicatively coupled to the media gateway102. In this regard, the local client devices 104 and/or the remoteclient devices 118 may comprise content consuming devices. Exemplaryclient devices may comprise, for example, televisions, computers(desktops or laptops), smartphones, tablets, digital video recorder(DVR), and/or personal video recorder (PVR). Communications between themedia gateway 102 and the client devices may be carried over optical,wired, and/or wireless links. Within the home network 100, the mediagateway 102 may interact with the local client devices 104 via links106. Exemplary links 106 may comprise High-Definition MultimediaInterface (HDMI) cables, 60 GHz WiGig wireless connections, wiredEthernet connections, WiFi connections, multimedia over coax alliance(MoCA) connections, and/or HomePNA connections. The media gateway 102may interact with the remote client devices 118, using indirectlyconnections, such as via the delivery networks 110. For example,communication between the gateway 102 and the remote client devices 118may be performed as IP interactions via the Internet 110A.

During communication via the media gateway 102, such as when forwardingdata or content to/from the client devices, the media gateway 102 may beoperable to perform various related operations or functions, as networkaccess processing comprising PHY/MAC, and/or transport layer processing,as well as encryption and/or decryption, user and/or deviceauthentication, and/or video and/or audio processing (e.g.encoding/decoding).

While the media gateway 102 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single and separatedevice, the invention need not be so limited. In one embodiment of theinvention, the media gateway functionality may be implemented in adistributed manner over two or more devices. Furthermore, the mediagateway may be implemented as a virtual platform, for example ininstances where it may be implemented in distributed manner. In anotherembodiment of the invention, some or all of the functionality of themedia gateway may be implemented within one of the televisions availablein the home.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of home networks 100 may beconnected to the delivery networks 110, and these home networks 100 mayoperate in substantially the same manner. Accordingly, by havingmultiple home networks connected to the delivery networks 110, variousapplications, such as peer-to-peer communication and/or data aggregationoperations may be possible provided by utilizing the media gateways 102in the home networks 100. For example, client devices 104 in differenthome networks 100 may communicate peer-to-peer connections, which may beestablished by corresponding media gateways 102, using direct connectiontherebetween and/or indirect connections, such as via Internet 110A forexample.

In operation, the media gateway 102 may operate as an interface devicewithin the home network 100, allowing the client devices 104 to interactwithin the home network 100, and/or allowing interactions between theclient devices 104 and remote client devices 110, other home networks100, the service providers 120A-120N and/or the content providers130A-130K. This may enable, for example, service providers 120A-120Nand/or content providers 130A-130K to interact with the client devices104 in a home network. In this regard, the media gateway 102 may beoperable to configuring the plurality of connections 108 for use duringsuch access. The connections 108 may comprise optical, wired and/orwireless connections between the media gateway 102 and the deliverynetworks 110. Accordingly, the media gateway 102 may enable and/orsupport delivery and/or communication of data, such as multimediacontent for example, to and/or from the home network 100. In thisregard, multimedia content may be communicated via the delivery networks110. Content delivery and/or exchange may comprise use of traditionalcontent delivery services, comprising traditional terrestrial(over-the-air), cable, and/or satellite delivery services, and/or IPbased streaming or downloading. The media gateway 102 may distribute thecontent to one or more client devices in a home network, forconsumption. The media gateway may also allow communication of contentgenerated by one or more of the client devices. Beyond serving asinterfacing device in the home network 100, the media gateway mayperform, directly and/or indirectly using other devices or resources inthe home network 100, dedicated processing and/or functions associatedwith data communication and forwarding, such encoding/decoding,compressing/decompression, encryption/decryption, and/or uservalidation.

The media gateway 102 may also provide and/or support various otherservices and/or application in the home network 100. For example, themedia gateway 102 may be operable to provide and/or support videoconferencing (VC) applications and/or services. In this regard, at leastsome of the client devices 104 serviced by the media gateway 102 may beutilized as video conferencing (VC) terminals during video conferencecalls. During such video conference calls, one or more client devices104 in the home network 100 may be utilized in capturing and/orgenerating audio/video (AV) content corresponding to user input, and/orin playing back AV content corresponding to user output. The AV contentcommunicated from and/or to the client devices 104 may be routed and/orforwarded via the media gateway 102. In this regard, the media gateway102 may utilize its network access physical connections forcommunicating, via the delivery networks 110, the AV content associatedwith video conference calls between client devices 104 in the homenetwork 100 and remote video conferencing (VC) clients. In someinstances, the media gateway 102 may enable routing the AV contentassociated with video conference calls within the home network 100, suchas between different client devices 104, in the home network 100, whichare being utilized as video conferencing (VC) clients in the same videoconference calls.

In an exemplary aspect of the invention, the media gateway 102 mayimplement at least a portion of multipoint control unit (MCU) functionsduring video conferencing (VC) applications. In this regard, inconventional video conferencing operations, dedicated centralizeddevices, such as centralized Multipoint Control Units (MCUs) may be usedin managing, controlling, and/or handling video conferencing relatedoperations. In this regard, conventional centralized MCUs may be locatedin the core network, and may be utilized to serve a large number ofvideo conferencing clients. The centralized MCUs may be utilized inrouting video conferencing communications and/or bridging videoconferencing connections, to enable a plurality of video conferencingterminals, and/or intermediary devices servicing these terminals such asgateways, to participate in multipoint video conferences. The mainfunctions of centralized MCUs may comprise video conference control andmanagement, and/or audio/video (AV) transcoding operations associatedwith VC clients in particular video conference calls. Use ofconventional centralized MCUs, however, may be costly because these MCUsare typically expensive equipment. Accordingly, to eliminate and/orreduce the need for using centralized MCUs during video conferencingoperations, at least a portion of centralized MCU functions may be movedto the media gateways. Configuring the media gateways to function asMCUs during video conferencing operations may be made possible becauseof the media gateway already available control and/or audio/video (AV)transcoding capabilities, for example. Use of media gateways to provideMCU functions may be desirable because it may eliminate or reduce thenumber of conventional centralized MCUs that may otherwise be usedduring VC operations. Use of media gateways to provide MCU functions mayalso allow establishing shorter and/or more efficient VC connections, byenabling the VC clients to connect to each other without necessitatingtraversing all the way up to and/or through the core network, whereconventional MCUs may reside. Using shorter peer-to-peer VC connectionsmay enable reducing and/or optimizing network bandwidth and/or load, andmay enable incurring less delay/jitter/packet losses since suchprobability of such losses tend to increase with increases in connectionlength and/or number of hops required. Use of media gateways to provideMCU functions may also allow the local video content mediums, such aslive channels or DVR, to be used as VC sources.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary communication modelthat may utilize media gateways as Multipoint Control Units (MCUs)during video conferencing (VC) applications, in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown aplurality of media gateways 202A-202F, plurality of client devices204A-204H, and a delivery network 210. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a centralMultipoint Control Unit (MCU) 212.

Each of the media gateways 202A-202F may be similar to the media gateway102, substantially as described with respect to FIG. 1. In this regard,each of the media gateways 202A-202F may be operable to service aplurality of client devices. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 the mediagateway 202A may service client devices 204A-204B; the media gateway202B may service client devices 204C-204D; the media gateway 202C mayservice client devices 204E-204F; and the media gateway 202D may serviceclient devices 204G-204H. During VC calls, the client devices 204A-204Hmay be utilized as video conferencing terminals (or clients) duringvideo conferences among users of these devices.

In operation, the client devices 204A-204H may be utilized in videoconferences conducted among users of these devices. In this regard, atleast some of the client devices 204A-204H may be operable to functionas video conferencing (VC) terminals (or clients) during videoconferences. During such video conferences, VC terminals may be utilizedto capture and/or generate audio/video (AV) content corresponding touser input during video conference calls, and may communicate the AVcontent to one or more other VC terminals. The VC terminals may alsoreceive, during such video conferences, AV content from other VCterminals, and may process the received AV content to generatecorresponding audio and/or video for playback as user output. The AVcontent exchanged between the VC terminals during video conference callsmay be communicated via media gateways servicing the VC terminals, suchas media gateways 202A-202F, and/or the delivery network 210.

In accordance with conventional video conferencing operations,centralized Multipoint Control Units (MCUs), such as MCU 212, which maycomprise dedicated network devices that be utilized in establishing,controlling, and/or managing the video conferences. In this regard, theMCU 212 may receive and/or handle requests for establishment of VC callsamong the client devices, and may determine the appropriate routes forexchanging AV content during established VC calls. For example, the MCU212 may receive a request from client device 204C, via media gateways202B and 202E, to establish VC call with client device 204E. The MCU 212may setup the VC call route, such as, for example, to run from clientdevice 204C via media gateways 202B and 202D to MCU 212, and then backto client device 204E, via media gateways 202F and 202C. Furthermore,during VC call the MCU 212 may be operable to perform the requiredaudio/video (AV) transcoding.

In an exemplary aspect of the invention, at least a portion ofmultipoint control unit (MCU) functions during video conferencing (VC)applications may be moved to the media gateways. For example, one ormore of the media gateways 202A-202F may be configured to implement atleast a portion of the functions typically performed by the MCU 212during VC calls among the client devices 204A-204H. In this regard, themedia gateways 202A-202F may be operable to handle such functions asestablishing and/or setting VC calls, adaptively and/or dynamicallycontrolling and/or managing the VC calls, and/or performing at least aportion of AV transcoding processing performed during forwarding of VCrelated AV content. For example, with respect to the example describedabove, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the mediagateway 202B may be operable to handle the VC call request sent byclient device 204C. The media gateway 202B may be operable to determineand/or establish the VC call routes in lieu of the MCU 212. Because themedia gateways 202A-202F may implement various MCU functions, the VCcall routes established by media gateways functioning as MCUs may beconfigured differently, without necessitating traversing the deliverynetwork 210 for example, since use of the MCU 212 may not be neededduring VC call related operations. In this regard, the VC call route mayonly be established through only the media gateways, using direct orindirect gateway-to-gateway connections. For example, the media gateways202B and 202C, or the media gateways 202E and 202F may be operable toestablish and/or setup direct connections, using WiFi connections forexample, when these media gateways are located within suitableconnectivity ranges. Accordingly, the established route for the VC callbetween client devices 204C and 204E may comprise directgateway-to-gateway connection 220 between media gateways 202B and 202C,or indirect gateway-to-gateway connection 222 between media gateway 202Eand 202F.

Furthermore, when functioning as MCUs, the media gateways 202A-202F mayalso be operable to perform content transcoding associated with the AVcontent exchanged between client devices during the VC calls. In thisregard, the media gateways 202A-202F may be operable to utilizeprocessing and/or transcoding capabilities and/or resources which may beavailable to support typical operations and/or applications of the mediagateways, such as during content delivery operations as described withrespect to FIG. 1.

In various embodiments of the inventions, the media gateway 202A-202Fmay provide, when functioning as MCUs, quality of service (QoS)management during video conferencing (VC) calls. In this regard, QoSmanagement may relate to quality of data generation, particularlyaudio-video (AV) content, and to the quality of data communication, suchas during exchange of AV content during the VC calls. In this regard,controlling AV content generation may comprise selecting particularaudio and/or video encoding or compression scheme or protocol, and/oradaptively adjusting or configuring the selected encoding or compressionprotocol, or use thereof. For example, various encoding protocols may beavailable for use by the VC clients and/or the media gateways. Exemplaryencoding protocols may comprise H.261, H.263, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,AVC, VC1 and VP6 for video; and WAV, MP3, MP2, WMA, G.711, G.722, G.723,G.726, and/or G.729 for audio. Each of these encoding protocols may havedistinct characteristics and/or limitations, resulting in varyingcorresponding quality of the encoded data, which may be gauged based onthe size of encoded data and/or characteristics or requiredreconstruction at the receiving end. For example, some encoding schemesmay incorporate lossy compression, in which some of the data maydiscarded, allowing for enhance (reduced) size of encoded data, whereasother encoding schemes may incorporate lossless data compressionallowing for reconstruction of the exact original data to be from thecompressed data but at the expense of larger size.

With respect to content communication, QoS management may compriseselecting and/or configuring links utilized to communicate the AVcontent. The link selection and/or configuration may be based oncommunication quality related parameters, which comprise, for example,maximum bandwidth, guaranteed throughput, communication latency,delivery errors and/or losses (e.g. dropped packets), delivery order(e.g. in-order or out-of-order), and/or jitter related issues, which mayarise from variation in delays with respect to different segments of thecommunicated data. For example, controlling AV content communication maycomprise selecting a particular communication interface available in theVC clients and/or the media gateway. In this regard, an “interface” maycorrespond to particular physical layer (e.g., wired, wireless, oroptical), and a corresponding communication protocol or standard (e.g.,Ethernet, MoCA, WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, Cellular, etc.) for usetherewith. Therefore, the selection of the interface may be based ondetermination of communication quality associated with availablephysical layers and/or communication protocols or standards, or allcombinations thereof. The QoS management may also comprise adaptivelyconfiguring and/or adjusting communication related processing based onselected interface, and the handling of data forwarding via theinterface. The outcome of quality of service (QoS) management maydictate whether AV content may be exchanged as, for example,high-definition (HD) video or standard-definition (SD) video.

In accordance with conventional video conferencing operations,centralized MCUs, such as MCU 212, may handle qualify of service (QoS)management during VC calls. In this regard, the MCU 202 may determineand/or implement a global end-to-end QoS scheme, which may be applieduniformly to all VC clients and/or any media gateways traversed duringthe VC call. For example, the MCU 212 may determine, in accordance witha global QoS scheme, global AV processing and/or communication rulesthat may be applied similarly to all the VC clients and/or the mediagateways. Such global QoS management scheme, however, may not be optimalor desirable because it may sacrifice overall user experience, sincelocal and broadband links corresponding to the VC client and/or mediagateway population usually have varying localized levels of QoS. Inother words, overall QoS may be optimized and/or enhanced by performingQoS locally, separately at each media gateway and/or VC client based onoptimal locally determined QoS criteria, in accordance with and/or basedon the capabilities and/or availability of processing and/orcommunicative resources at each of the VC clients and/or the mediagateways.

Accordingly, in various embodiments of the invention, the distributedMCU architecture implemented by offloading at least some of the MCUfunctions to the media gateways may be configured to incorporatelocalized QoS management functions into the media gateways, to enableexploring localized point-to-point QoS during VC call basedinteractions, and to determine and/or implement localized QoS schemes byeach of the media gateways that may be optimized based on localcriteria. This may enable optimizing overall QoS, and/or enhancingoverall user experience, by allowing each media gateway to optimize QoSrelated parameters within that media gateway, its links, and/or devicesdirected connected to that media gateway, such as external resources, VCclients, and/or other neighboring media gateways. In other words, indistributed MCU environment, the overall end-to-end QoS associated withparticular VC calls may be achieved by, and/or may result from applyingseparate localized QoS based optimization functions and/or policies ineach of the media gateways traversed or utilized during the VC call,with each of these local optimization functions or policies beingconfigured specifically based on local resources.

In accordance with localized QoS optimization based management, each VCclient may negotiate the best AV quality, pertaining to both generationand communication of the AV content, based on the available QoS betweenthe VC client and media gateway servicing that VC client. Each mediagateway may negotiate the best AV quality based on the QoS availablebetween itself and each of the attached media gateways. Each mediagateway may then perform the necessary AV content processing and/orhandling based on the negotiated AV quality with attached VC clients andmedia gateways. The negotiation performed during localized QoSoptimization may be based on localized criteria. Exemplary criteria maycomprise coder/decoder (codec) availability and/or capabilities, latencyassociated with AV processing (and resources used therefor) and networkinterfaces, and/or resources (e.g. processor and/or memory) that may beutilized during various VC related operations in the media gatewaysand/or connected devices utilized during the VC call. In accordance withthe localized QoS management scheme, each VC client and media gatewaymay perform simple local QoS optimization based on the knowledge ofavailable QoS on the local links. These locally-optimizing entitiescollectively achieve a much more complex QoS optimization on the globalscale. Specifically, with the above algorithm, each VC client will gainthe best possible VC experience (for example, in terms of AV quality)with a given overall network condition and a given optimizationcriterion.

For example, with respect to the example described above, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention, implementing distributed MCUenvironment with localized QoS management functions in each of the mediagateways, the media gateway 202B may be operable to perform local QoSmanagement, which may be based on determining optimal quality associatedwith media gateway 202B that may be achieved during content generationand/or communication. The determination of the optimal quality may bebased on and/or dictated by available resources and/or capabilities,especially those relating to generation and/or processing of VC relateddata (e.g. AV content), and/or their corresponding quality profiles.This may comprise both the resources and/or capabilities of the mediagateway 202B itself, and of other devices directly or indirectlyconnected to the media gateway 202B that may participate or be usedduring in the VC call, comprising, for example, the client device 204Cand/or neighboring media gateways (e.g. media gateway 202C and mediagateway 202E).

The determination of the optimal quality may also be based on and/ordictated by available links, especially those that may be used tocommunicate the VC related data (e.g. AV content), and/or theircorresponding quality profiles. This may comprise links between themedia gateway 202B and other devices directly or indirectly connected tothe media gateway 202B that may participate or be used during the VCcall, such as the client device 204C and/or neighboring media gateways202C or media gateway 202E. The same localized QoS management may beperformed by each media gateway traversed during the VC call, which maycomprise only media gateway 202C when connection 220 is used; or mediagateways 202E, 202F, and 202C when connection 222 is used.

FIG. 3A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary media gateway thatmay support Multipoint Control Unit (MCU) operations during videoconferencing (VC) applications, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Referring to FIG. 3A, there is shown a media gateway 300,which may correspond to the media gateway 102 of FIG. 1, and/or to anyof the media gateways 202A-202F of FIG. 2.

The media gateway 300 may comprise multiple hardware and/or softwaremodules and/or subsystems, such as, for example, a processing subsystem302, a storage subsystem 304, a provider interfacing subsystem 310, anda client interfacing subsystem 320. The media gateway 300 may comprise asingular device or may be implemented in distributed manner, whereinvarious components and/or functions of the media gateway 300 may bedistributed among multiple physical devices. Moreover, the moduleslisted above are provided by way of illustration and not of limitation.Other configurations and/or architectures of the media gateway 300 maybe implemented.

The processing subsystem 302 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to perform control and/ordata processing operations in the media gateway 300. The processingsubsystem 302 may be operable to handle and/or process various types ofdata, such as video and/or audio data, for example. The processingsubsystem 302 may process data received from the service and/or contentproviders, and/or data received from one or more client devices. Theprocessing subsystem 302 may also be operable to control and/or manageoperations of the media gateway 300, or various components thereof,and/or executing tasks and/or applications provided therein. In thisregard, the processing subsystem 302 may enable execution ofapplications, programs and/or code which may be stored in the storagesubsystem 304, for example. The processing subsystem 302 may be operableto configure and/or control operations of various components and/orsubsystems of the media gateway 300, and/or other devices managed byand/or connected to media gateway, by utilizing, for example, one ormore control signals. The processing subsystem 302 may comprise, forexample, one or more processors 306, which may comprise general purposeprocessors, such as one or more CPUs, and/or specialized processors,such as one or more dedicated video and/or audio processors. Theprocessor 306 may also comprise one or more secure processors forproviding security related operations. While the processing subsystem302 is shown herein as a single block, the invention needs not be solimited. Accordingly, in instances where the media gateway isimplemented a distributed platform, some of the operations and/orfunctions described herein with regard to the processing subsystems maybe performed by different components that may be located in differentdevices.

The storage subsystem 304 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to store data used,handled, and/or processed during operations of the media gateway 300. Inthis regard, the storage subsystem 304 may comprise one or more memorydevices that may enable permanent and/or non-permanent storage,buffering, and/or fetching of data, code and/or other information whichmay be used, consumed, and/or handled in the media gateway 300. Forexample, the storage subsystem 304 may be utilized to storeconfiguration data, parameters, device information, tracking and/ormonitoring information, security information, and intermediateprocessing data, for example. The storage subsystem 304 may comprisestorage media integrated in the media gateway 300 and/or one or moreremovable storage devices. In this regard, the storage subsystem 304 maycomprise different memory technologies, including, for example,read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and/or Flash memory.

The provider interfacing subsystem 310 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to communicatedata, via one or more physical connections 308A-308J. The providerinterfacing subsystem 310 may be operable to support multiplecommunication protocols, standards, and/or data transport technologies.In this regard, each of the physical connections 308A-308J may connectthe media gateway 300 to different network access service providers, andmay comprise a wired, optical/fiber, or wireless connection. Thephysical layer connections 308A-308J may utilize different physicalmedia and/or different physical protocols. For example, the connection308A may comprise a DSL over twisted-pair connection whereas and theconnection 308J may comprise a CATV over coaxial cable connection. Theprovider interfacing subsystem 310 may enable accessing and/orcommunicating with one or more service providers 120 and/or contentproviders 130, via the delivery networks 110. The provider interfacingsubsystem 310 may also be utilized to communicate data to and/or fromthird parties. In this regard, the provider interfacing subsystem 310may enable gateway-to-gateway communication and/or interactions betweenthe media gateway 300 and communication devices located outside the homenetwork 100, directly and/or indirectly, such as through intermediarydevices and/or distribution networks corresponding to one or moreservice providers. The provider interfacing subsystem 310 may enableconcurrently communicating with multiple and/or differentservice/content providers and/or devices.

The client interfacing subsystem 320 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to communicatewith one or more client devices in a home network serviced and/ormanaged by the media gateway 300, such as the home network 100 ofFIG. 1. In this regard, the client interfacing subsystem 320 may enableexchanging data and/or messages with the client devices. The clientinterfacing subsystem 320 may support multiple communication protocols,standards, and/or data transport technologies. For example, the clientinterfacing subsystem 320 may support the links 106, substantially asdescribe with regard to FIG. 1.

In operation, the media gateway 300 may be utilized as an interfacedevice providing connectivity between providers (e.g. service and/orcontent providers) and client devices, such as local client devices in ahome network (e.g. the home network 100) serviced by the media gateway300. The media gateway 300 may enable and/or facilitate reception and/ordelivery of content, such as multimedia content, substantially asdescribed with respect to FIG. 1. In this regard, the media gateway 300may utilize the provider interfacing subsystem 310 in transmittingrequests to, and/or receiving content from the service providers 130,via one or more of the delivery networks 110. The media gateway 300 mayalso be operable to communicate, using the client interfacing subsystem320, with client devices in a home network serviced by the media gateway300. In this regard, the client interfacing subsystem 320 may supportuse of one or more of the links 306, which may be similar to links 106of FIG. 1. Thus, the media gateway 300 may be operable to communicatecontent to/from the client devices. The media gateway 300 may alsoperform, directly via the processing subsystem 302 and/or indirectlyusing other devices, processing and/or functions associated withhandling the content, comprising, for example, encoding/decoding,compression/decompression, encryption/decryption, and/or accountvalidation.

In an exemplary aspect of the invention, the media gateway 300 may beoperable to handle at least a portion of processing corresponding tovideo conferencing (VC) services provided to client devices 104 in thehome network 100. In this regard, the media gateway 300 may implement,for example, at least a portion of multipoint control unit (MCU)functions during video conferencing (VC) applications and/or services ina home network, such as the home network 100. For example, the mediagateway 300 may be operable to provide MCU functions such asestablishing and/or setting multipoint VC calls, adaptively and/ordynamically controlling and/or managing the VC calls, and/or handling atleast a portion of audio/video (AV) transcoding performed during VCcalls. In this regard, various components of the media gateway 300, suchas the processing subsystem 302, may be configured to implement and/orsupport the MCU functions.

The media gateway 300 may be operable to utilize, in supporting VCrelated applications and/or services, various existing capabilitiesand/or resources that may typically be utilized during non-VC operationsand/or applications in the media gateway 300. For example, the mediagateway 300 may be configured to implemented and/or support a pluralityof video and/or audio coder-decoders (codec(s)) which may typically beutilized to support delivery and/or communication of content by clientdevices serviced by the media gateway 300. Exemplary codec(s) maycomprise, for example, H.261, H.263, H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVC, VC1and/or VP6 for video; and WAV, MP3, MP2, WMA, G.711, G.722, G723, G.726,and/or G.729 for audio. Accordingly, the codec(s) may be employed tosupport various VC applications and/or services being provided via themedia gateway 300. In this regard, the media gateway 300 may utilizeavailable codec(s) for transcoding AV content communicated to and/orfrom serviced client devices during VC calls. In some embodiments, themedia gateway 300 may also be operable to perform and/or supportsegmentation and/or assembly operation associated with contentcommunication via the media gateway 300. In this regard, during contentsegmentation, content may be split into a plurality of segments that maybe communicated separately. Each of the segments may correspond to datacarried in a single transport packet for example. During contentassembly, the media gateway 300 may be operable to receive and/or buffera plurality of segments carrying various portions of the content, andmay assemble the content from the received segments. In an exemplaryembodiment of the invention, the media gateway 300 may provide localizedQoS management, substantially as described with respect to FIG. 2. Thisis described in more details in FIG. 3B.

FIG. 3B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary media gateway thatmay support local QoS management during video conferencing (VC)applications, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 3B, there is shown the media gateway 300 of FIG. 3A.

The media gateway 300 may be configured to implement various functionsthat may be utilized during operations of the media gateway 300, such aswhen servicing a plurality of client devices in a home network forexample. In this regard, the functions may be implemented by and/orincorporated into components of the media gateway 300, such as theprocessing subsystem 302, the storage subsystem 304, the providerinterfacing subsystem 310, and/or the client interfacing subsystem 320.In an exemplary aspect of the invention, at least some of variousfunctions implemented by and/or incorporated into the media gateway 300may be utilized to support and/or facilitate video conferencing (VC)operations. The media gateway 300 may implement and/or incorporate, forexample, a TV receiver function 352, a Digital Video Recorder (DVR)function 354, a broadband access interface (I/F) function 356, and alocal access interface (I/F) function 358. The media gateway 300 mayalso incorporate dedicated video conferencing (VC) functions, such as alocal multipoint control unit (MCU) function 360 and a videoconferencing (VC) client interface (I/F) function 362.

The TV receiver function 352 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to handle reception of TVbroadcasts, which may be received via over-the-air transmissions, cableconnections, and/or satellite signals. In this regard, the TV receivefunction 352 may enable extraction and/or processing of AV contentcarried via received TV broadcasts.

The DVR function 354 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces,and/or code that may be operable to handle AV content processingassociated with digital video recorder operations. In this regard, theDVR function 354 may enable storage of AV content, and/or subsequentretrieval thereof during playback operations.

The broadband access I/F function 356 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to handlebroadband accessing operations via the media gateway 300. In thisregard, the broadband access I/F function 356 may support establishingand/or utilizing one or more broadband connections, which may enableproviding Internet accessibility for example.

The local access I/F function 358 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to enable and/orsupport interactions between the media gateway 300 and client devicesserviced and/or access via the media gateway 300. In this regard, thelocal access I/F function 358 may support establishing and/or utilizingone or more wired or wireless connections between the media gateway 300and client device(s) serviced by the media gateway 300.

The local MCU function 360 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to support and/or performone or more functions associated with conventional video conferencingmultipoint control unit (MCU). In this regard, the local MCU function360 may enable the media gateway 300 to handle at least a portion ofprocessing and/or applications associated with video conferencing (VC)services, substantially as described with regard to FIG. 3A. In anexemplary aspect of the invention, the local MCU function 360 maycomprise a local quality-of-service (QoS) management component 360A. Thelocal QoS management component 360A may comprise suitable logic,circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to implementand/or perform localized QoS management functions, to optimize qualityof service within the media gateway 300, within devices directly andindirectly connected to the media gateway 300, and/or with respect tolinks therebetween.

The VC client I/F function 362 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code that may be operable to enable and/or supportinteractions between the media gateway 300 and client devices utilizedas video conferencing (VC) terminals during video conferencingapplications and/or serviced by the media gateway 300. In this regard,the VC client I/F function 362 may support exchange of data and/orcontrol information between the media gateway 300 and client devicesbeing utilized as VC terminals during video conference calls.

In operation, the media gateway 300 may be operable to support and/orhandle video conferencing (VC) applications and/or services. In thisregard, the media gateway 300 may incorporate and/or implement variousfunctions that may support and/or contribute to VC services and/orapplications provided by the media gateway 300. For example, the localMCU function 360 may perform various operations typically associatedwith conventional multipoint control units (MCUs). The local MCUfunction 360 may provide, for example, overall control and/or managementof VC calls established and/or provided via the media gateway 300. Inthis regard, the local MCU function 360 may determine and/or set routesfor exchanging data and/or control information during the VC calls. Thelocal MCU function 360 may utilize, in this regard, informationgenerated and/or maintained by the media gateway 300 pertaining toclient devices, networks, and/or other media gateways.

The local MCU function 360 may utilize the broadband access I/F function356, the local access I/F function 358, and/or the VC client I/Ffunction 362 to connect to and/or interact with devices that mayfunction as VC terminals and/or devices that may be utilized for routingand/or forwarding of data exchanged between the VC terminals during VCcalls. For example, the local MCU function 360 may interact with and/orconnect local client devices being utilized as VC terminals via thelocal access I/F function 358 and/or the VC client I/F function 362. Thelocal MCU function 360 may interact with and/or connect to remote mediagateways or VC terminals via broadband connections that may beestablished and/or setup using the broadband access I/F function 356.The local MCU function 360 may also provide and/or perform at least aportion of audio/video (AV) transcoding performed on AV contentexchanged during VC calls. In this regard, the local MCU function 360may utilize available AV transcoding capabilities and/or resources, suchas AV codec(s), which may be incorporated and/or implemented by the TVreceiver function 352 and/or the DVR function 354, for use to handle AVcontent received via TV broadcasts and/or retrieved during DVRoperations.

In various embodiments of the invention, the local QoS managementcomponent 360A may support and/or provide localized QoS managementfunctions during VC applications and/or services of the media gateway300. In this regard, the local QoS management component 360A may beoperable to determine and/or implement one or more localized QoSprofiles which may be applied in configuring and/or controlling thegeneration and/or handling of data (e.g. AV content) exchanged betweenVC clients during VC calls, the communication thereof. This may enablelocalized optimization of QoS related parameters within the mediagateway 300, devices directly or indirectly connected to the mediagateway 300, comprising external resources, VC clients, and/orneighboring media gateways, and/or links between the media gateway 300and these devices. The localized QoS profiles may enable, for example,setting and/or adjusting one or more QoS related parameters in the mediagateway 300 and/or those devices directly or indirectly connected tomedia gateway 300. The QoS related parameters may pertain to, forexample, coder/decoder (codec) functions, processing or communicationlatencies, and processing or storage resources. For example, thelocalized QoS profiles may specify which of available video or audiocodec(s) to be selected, how the selected codec(s) may be configuredand/or adjusted. The localized QoS profiles may also specify selectioncriteria with respect to available resources, and/or how the selectedresources are configured and/or controlled. In addition, the localizedQoS profiles may specify selection criteria with respect to availableinterfaces that may be utilized for communication of data during VCcalls, and/or how the selected interfaces may be configured and/orutilized.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the local QoS managementcomponent 360A may predetermine various profiles associated withresources and/or capabilities that may be utilized during VCapplication, to expedite QoS management functions during VC calls. Forexample, the local QoS management component 360A may determine aplurality of encoding profiles, based on available codec(s), each withvarying quality related characteristics and/or limitations. In thisregard, the encoding profiles may comprise information pertaining toaudio and/or video resolutions (e.g. desired, minimum, etc.); codectypes that may be utilized or selected, and/or information related to ofaudio and video segmentation operations. The local QoS managementcomponent 360A may also determine a plurality of communication profiles,based on available interfaces—that is available physical layers andcorresponding communication protocols for use thereof. In this regard,each of the plurality of communication profiles may comprise differentquality related characteristics and/or limitations. The communicationprofiles may comprise information pertaining to and/or specifyingphysical layer types that may be used, interface protocol types that mayselected in setting up the link(s) utilized during VC relatedcommunication, bandwidth, and/or latency. In addition, the local QoSmanagement component 360A may determine a plurality of resourceallocation profiles, based on available resources and/or capabilities.In this regard, the plurality of communication profiles may specifydifferent combinations with respect to selection and/or configuration ofavailable resources, resulting in varying quality relatedcharacteristics and/or limitations. The resource allocation profiles maycomprise information pertaining to and/or specifying resource types,priority (during use thereof), and/or maximum allowed load of selectedresources. Accordingly, the local QoS management may comprise selectingan encoding profile, a communication profile, and/or a resourceallocation profile from these predetermined profiles.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for supportingdistributed local QoS optimization functions using integrated mediagateways during video conferencing (VC) applications, in accordance withan embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown aflow chart 400 comprising a plurality of exemplary steps which may beperformed to facilitate distributed localized QoS optimization toachieve global QoS optimization during video conferencing services.

In step 402, a media gateway, such as the media gateway 300 of FIGS. 3Aand 3B, which may be operable to function as MCU during videoconferencing (VC) applications, may receive request for handling videoconference (VC) call from a client device serviced by the media gateway.In step 404, the media gateway may attempt to establish, in response tothe received request, a VC call between the requesting client device andone or more destination VC client devices. In this regard, thedestination VC client devices may be located within and/or external to ahome network serviced by the media gateway. In step 406, the mediagateway may initiate, and perform thereafter localized QoS managementduring the establishment of the VC call. In step 408, the media gatewaymay adaptively and dynamically perform the local QoS management functionduring the established VC call, to enable selecting and/or configuringvarious aspects of AV content related generation, processing, and/orcommunication during the established VC call in a manner that enablesoptimizing QoS based on localized criteria.

Various embodiments of the invention may comprise a method and systemfor using distributed local QoS optimization to achieve global QoSoptimization for video conferencing services. The media gateway 300 mayprovide and/or support video conferencing (VC) services and/orapplications, by handling, for example, at least a portion of videoconferencing (VC) processing required during video conference callsbetween client devices serviced by the media gateway 300 and one or moreother video conferencing (VC) terminals. In this regard, the mediagateway 300 may perform and/or handle, via the local MCU function 360,one or more functions that are offloaded from one or more centralizedvideo conferencing (VC) multipoint control units (MCUs). Exemplary MCUfunctions may comprise control and/or management of video conferencing(VC) calls, and/or audio/video (AV) transcoding associated with contentexchanged during the video conferencing (VC) calls. The videoconferencing (VC) call control and/or management may comprisedetermining and/or establishing routing paths utilized in exchangingdata during video conference (VC) calls.

The media gateway 300 may handle and/or perform localized QoS managementfunctions during VC calls. In this regard, the local QoS managementperformed by the media gateway 300 may comprise an adaptive localizedQoS optimization directed at setting and/or adjusting one or more QoSrelated parameters in the media gateway 300, and/or in one or moreclient devices and/or neighboring media gateway 300 directly orindirectly connected to the media gateway 300. Exemplary QoS relatedparameters may comprise, or pertain to local resources and/or links thatmay be utilized during VC operations. This may comprise coder/decoder(codec) functions, processing or storage resources, processing criteria(e.g., latency, load, and priority), communication interfaces, and/orcommunication criteria (bandwidth, latency, error, etc.). The mediagateway 300 may negotiate at least some of the QoS related parameterswith one or more of the plurality of client devices and/or the othermedia gateway 300 directly or indirectly connected to the media gateway300. The media gateway 300 may determine a plurality of profilesassociated with resources and/or capabilities utilized during VCoperations, such as encoding profiles, communication profiles, and/orresource allocation profiles. The media gateway 300 may then select oneor more these profiles during local QoS management operations, based onquality characteristics and/or limitations associated with each of theseprofiles.

Other embodiments of the invention may provide a non-transitory computerreadable medium and/or storage medium, and/or a non-transitory machinereadable medium and/or storage medium, having stored thereon, a machinecode and/or a computer program having at least one code sectionexecutable by a machine and/or a computer, thereby causing the machineand/or computer to perform the steps as described herein for usingdistributed local QoS optimization to achieve global QoS optimizationfor video conferencing services.

Accordingly, the present invention may be realized in hardware,software, or a combination of hardware and software. The presentinvention may be realized in a centralized fashion in at least onecomputer system, or in a distributed fashion where different elementsare spread across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind ofcomputer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methodsdescribed herein is suited. A typical combination of hardware andsoftware may be a general-purpose computer system with a computerprogram that, when being loaded and executed, controls the computersystem such that it carries out the methods described herein.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention willinclude all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A method, comprising: in a media gateway that services a plurality ofclient devices, handling by said media gateway, at least a portion ofvideo conferencing (VC) processing for a video conference (VC) call viaat least one of said plurality of client devices, wherein: said at leasta portion of said VC processing handled by said media gateway isoffloaded from a centralized VC multipoint control unit (MCU); and saidVC processing handled by said media gateway comprises management ofquality of service (QoS) upon establishing of said VC call and duringsaid VC call.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said QoSmanagement comprises controlling generation and/or communication ofaudio-video (AV) content exchanged upon establishing of said VC call andduring said VC call.
 3. The method according to claim 1, comprisingadaptively configuring said QoS management via said media gateway basedon local QoS optimization, wherein said local QoS optimization comprisessetting and/or adjusting one or more QoS related parameters in saidmedia gateway, in one or more of said plurality of client devices,and/or in one or more other media gateway connected to said mediagateway.
 4. The method according to claim 3, comprising negotiating atleast some of said QoS related parameters with one or more of saidplurality of client devices and/or said other media gateway connected tosaid media gateway.
 5. The method according to claim 3, wherein said QoSrelated parameters pertain to coder/decoder (codec) functions,processing latency, communication latency, and processing or storageresources.
 6. The method according to claim 3, comprising selectingduring said local QoS optimization, an encoding profile from a set ofdifferent encoding profiles, said set of different encoding profilescomprise audio and video resolutions, coder/decoder (codec) types,and/or sizes of audio and video segments.
 7. The method according toclaim 3, comprising selecting during said local QoS optimization, acommunication profile from a set of different communication profiles,said set of different communication profiles comprising physical layertype, interface type, bandwidth, and/or latency.
 8. The method accordingto claim 3, comprising selecting during said local QoS optimization, aresource allocation profile from a set of different resource allocationprofiles, said set of different resource allocation profiles comprisingresource type, priority, and/or maximum load.
 9. A system, comprising:one or more circuits for use in a media gateway that services aplurality of client devices, said one or more circuits being operable tohandle at least a portion of video conferencing (VC) processing for avideo conference (VC) call via at least one of said plurality of clientdevices, wherein: said at least a portion of said VC processing handledby said media gateway is offloaded from a centralized VC multipointcontrol unit (MCU); and said VC processing handled by said media gatewaycomprises management of quality of service (QoS) upon establishing saidVC call of and during said VC call.
 10. The system according to claim 9,wherein said QoS management comprises controlling generation and/orcommunication of audio-video (AV) content exchanged upon establishing ofsaid VC call and during said VC call.
 11. The system according to claim9, wherein said one or more circuits are operable to adaptivelyconfigure said QoS management via said media gateway based on local QoSoptimization, wherein said local QoS optimization comprises settingand/or adjusting one or more QoS related parameters in said mediagateway, in one or more of said plurality of client devices, and/or inone or more other media gateways connected to said media gateway. 12.The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or more circuits areoperable to negotiate at least some of said QoS related parameters withone or more of said plurality of client devices and/or said other mediagateways connected to said media gateway.
 13. The system according toclaim 11, wherein said QoS related parameters pertain to coder/decoder(codec) functions, processing latency, communication latency, andprocessing or storage resources.
 14. The system according to claim 11,wherein said one or more circuits are operable to select during saidlocal QoS optimization, an encoding profile from a set of differentencoding profiles, said set of different encoding profiles compriseaudio and video resolutions, coder/decoder (codec) types, and/or sizesof audio and video segments.
 15. The system according to claim 11,wherein said one or more circuits are operable to select during saidlocal QoS optimization, a communication profile from a set of differentcommunication profiles, said set of different communication profilescomprising physical layer type, interface type, bandwidth, and/orlatency.
 16. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one or morecircuits are operable to select during said local QoS optimization, aresource allocation profile from a set of different resource allocationprofiles, said set of different resource allocation profiles comprisingresource type, priority, and/or maximum load.
 17. A media gateway,comprising: an interfacing subsystem, wherein: said interfacingsubsystem supports a plurality of different physical layers and aplurality of different communication standards or protocols for useduring communication via said plurality of different physical layers;and said interfacing subsystem enables communication with one or more ofat least one external resource, at least one client device, at least oneother media gateway, and at least one access network associated with aparticular network access service provider; and a processing subsystemthat is operable to perform a plurality of functions and/or applicationsduring operations in said media gateways, wherein said operationscomprise a localized QoS management that is limited to said mediagateway, to one or more client devices coupled to said media gateway,and one or more neighboring media gateways coupled to said mediagateway.
 18. The system according to claim 17, wherein said localizedQoS management comprises determining, setting, and/or adjusting one ormore QoS related parameters in said media gateway, in at least oneexternal resource coupled to said media gateway, in at least one clientdevice coupled to said media gateway, and/or in at least one neighboringmedia gateway coupled to said media gateway.
 19. The system according toclaim 17, wherein said processing subsystem is operable to create one ormore encoding profiles for use in encoding data communicated via saidmedia gateway, one or more communication profiles for use in saidcommunicating said data, and/or one or more resource allocation profilesfor use in allocating resources utilized during handling of said data.20. The system according to claim 17, wherein said processing subsystemis operable to adaptively adjust said profiles during said operations ofsaid media gateway.